A girl, a sewing machine, a journey!

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I’m constantly fascinated by the influence technology has on our everyday lives, especially when it comes to social media subcultures and connecting diverse people who have similar interests. When friends ask me how I learned to sew “on my own,” I’m always quick to remind them that I don’t believe I could have done it without the internet — and specifically, social media — by my side. Printable patterns, blog tutorials, YouTube demonstrations, Instagram inspiration and a supportive, virtual sewing community all played (and still play!) a key role in my learning to sew.

I’m similarly fascinated by internet and social media trends – the exponential growth of a great (or sometimes, a not-so-great) idea. Hashtags, memes, Throwback Thursday, the ice bucket challenge, whatever. What makes an idea catchy, and why does it stick around?

So this is it — my one hundredth post! Woohoo! In honor of this milestone, I’ve come up with a list of 100 projects I’d like to complete. It’s sort of like a sewing bucket list. I’m posting the list here and as I complete a project on the list, I’ll add the link to the completed project. Some notes about the list:

Project diversity: Some things on the list are specific projects I’ve always wanted to complete. Others are more open-ended and scavenger-hunt-esque (e.g., something inspired by my hometown).

I’m a weirdo: Some things on the list may seem kind of strange without explanation — but I promise to explain the background in full detail when each project is completed and I get the chance to write about it.

Bunting = love: One of the categories is all about monthly bunting — I want a bunting for every single month! Even though I’ve already completed a few month’s worth in previous blog posts, I’ve left them on this list and marked them as completed. So technically I have a bit of a head start on this list. But I get to make the rules and I say that’s okay. 😉

I’m repeating some previous goals: There are some things on this list I’ve already done. Like gifts for certain family members. Or projects inspired by Disney characters. But I’ve left these on the list because I have more ideas and I intend on tackling these goals once again!

Patterns I own: I’ve listed a bunch of commercial patterns I already own (thanks a lot, 5 for $5 sales!) — my goal is to make at least one project from each pattern listed so I can justify the purchase of the pattern. But no pressure to make every single project listed in the pattern! And speaking of no pressure…

No pressure: There’s no timeline for this list. I may get through one project next weekend — and another project a year from now. This list is just for fun — not to fulfill some crazy “project a day” challenge or something. I work full time and have a life unrelated to sewing and blogging, y’all (shocking, I know) — so this shouldn’t be something that keeps me awake at night.

There will still be side projects – lots of side projects! My future sewing projects won’t be limited to this list. If something else pops up, I’ll still sew it and blog about it and all that. But it just won’t be a part of THIS challenge! I have a feeling tackling this list will really slow down as my gift-giving ramps up around Christmas time. This list won’t change, but my priorities might!

Shout it out: If there’s something on this list you really want to see me tackle, let me know — maybe I’ll make it next. Similarly, if there’s something on this list you’ve already made and you have helpful tips or tricks — please share!

A replica of Liesl’s gazebo dress from the Sound of Music — I have a feeling this will be the last project I ever complete on this list, LOL… dream big! I have yet to conquer garments, let alone fancy movie replica garments! (here’s the pattern)

A zipper pouch that is an odd shape (similar to the tea cup pouch, but something I come up with on my own)

So there you go! I had a hard time splitting the list into categories and having the numbered bullets actually list the numbers 1 through 100, but I promise there are 100 projects listed there. One Hundred Projects on the horizon, guys! Plus a whole bunch of miscellaneous projects that are sure to pop up throughout the journey. Like I said before, these aren’t the ONLY projects I’ll be working on — after all, this doesn’t include any of the top secret stuff. 😉 Thanks for following along and supporting me through the first 100 blog posts!

When Disney Imagineers make significant updates to an attraction, they will sometimes refer to it as “re-imagined” instead of refurbished, remodeled or any other similarly drab and uninspiring reconstruction word. Well, I am about to tell you about a grand idea I had that didn’t quite work out the way I expected… but I hesitate to call it a failure. No, I would rather refer to the results as re-imagined. Because after all, creativity is one of my favorite things in the world – and creativity is not simply getting from Point A to Point B. Nope, it’s about the journey that gets you there!

This is the first year in many that I haven’t prepared a Halloween costume. While I don’t have access to photos from every single Halloween I’ve ever celebrated, here’s a sampling of some of the “ghosts” of my Halloweens past!

Pre-school Years: A repurposed dance recital ensemble turned Tooth Fairy costume. Yes, Tooth Fairy. See the tinfoil wand that says “Tooth Fairy” at the top? What can I say? I come from a family of dentists, and I was easily impressionable.

Kind of a sad little Tooth Fairy…

More pre-school years:I’m a store-bought bunny, and my brother is a skeleton. My mom made the skeleton costume herself by tediously cutting white felt into bone shapes and sewing them onto black sweats. My mom is awesome!

Kind of a sad little bunny… why was I always so sad!?

1990:I’m a non-politically-correct Native American. One of my favorite costumes, despite the fact that a boy in my class was also a non-politically-correct Native American that year, and everyone said we were going to get married, which is a traumatizing statement in the first grade.

So excited to bring my non-politically-correct Native American baby doll to school!

1992: I was a “50’s girl” complete with a poodle skirt and a silky pink jacket from the Mirage in Las Vegas… because every girl from the 1950’s had a Vegas jacket. LOL!

Why were there poodles on skirts back then, anyway?

1994: I was a mime. Not pictured, as it was one of my most embarrassing costumes. However, if you ask my mom, it was one of her favorites and she’ll show you pictures. So don’t ask my mom.

Don’t ever let your mom talk you into being a mime.

With the exception of freshman year (when I didn’t know any better and wore a Dorothy costume to school), I didn’t dress up in high school. I went to a Catholic school with a strict dress code and there were just too many restrictions to even bother. Back then, we were just happy if we were allowed to wear blue jeans. And I didn’t dress up in college because I consider myself a person who values dressing tastefully and appropriately, and dressing up isn’t an option in college if you dress appropriately.

After college, I moved to central Florida and started spending a lot of time at Walt Disney World… after a long hiatus of no Halloween costumes to my name, I was excited to jump back in to the wonderful world of Halloween – especially in a place where awesome, appropriate costumes are valued. All of the sudden, Halloween was fun again!

2006: I was determined to dress up as my favorite Disney character, Wendy Darling, and ordered a handmade Wendy costume from Kelly’s Costumes. I wore it to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party with some friends who dressed up as Peter Pan and Tinker Bell!

What’s a kiss?

2007: Because I just couldn’t get enough – Wendy returned.

Sometimes Peter gets mistaken for Robin Hood… what’s your vote?

2008: I debuted TWO costumes in 2008 for two separate parties! One Tinker Bell costume, complete with light-up fairy wings and – my favorite – poof ball shoes. I was so adamant that the shoes be exactly the way I pictured them that I made them myself – celery green Prima Crocs with a poofball sewn on top.

Perfect poof-ball shoes!

And one Mouseketeer ensemble, easily created with a white t-shirt, iron-on letters and a custom set of Mickey Mouse ears.

Y? Because we like you!

2009: Two chefs hats, a chef jacket, some red hair dye and an “Eiffel-tower-on-a-stick” created the perfect Remy and Linguine costumes from the movie Ratatouille. I wore all gray and pinned craft-foam rat ears to my chef hat. I also decoupage’d that pretty fab version of the cookbook from the movie!

Can you believe I was lucky enough to go to the Halloween party with Nick Lachey?

A hearty update is in order! I finished my sewing class at JoAnn’s and completed a pretty awesome dress as a result. Here’s a sneak preview until I get a chance to write in more detail and take some photos actually wearing it!

Simplicity 2443 in all of its stretch knit glory!

I will also say this:

I am fairly confident I never would have been able to figure out the pattern for this dress on my own.

I am no longer scared of stretch knit, and in fact, I am a little excited to try working with it again!

Today I pulled up my handy-dandy Joann Fabric & Craft Stores iPhone app and realized I had a coupon for “50% off select classes” expiring tomorrow. There’s a class I’ve been eyeing for awhile, so I took advantage of the opportunity and signed up! Normally $75 for the two 3-hour sessions, I paid $37.50 for the Sewing 301: Misses’ Dress class. Woohoo! The class isn’t for a whole month though. Sad woohoo. But I’m really hoping to knock my “something wearable” goal off of my 2011 check list. Happy woohoo!

This is THE dress I will learn how to make!

Three thoughts:

1) Has anyone else ever taken a class at JoAnn’s? Was it helpful?

2) The price does not include supplies! Yikes! And here I’d always thought the class prices were a little high because of the supply costs. Apparently not!

3) Anyone else in Central Florida want to take the class with me? Leave me a note and I will let you know which class and location I plan to attend! Take advantage of the 50% off class coupon while you can. 🙂

I initially didn’t find the experience to be blog-worthy, but I think it’s only fair to document downfalls in addition to the victories. I was really hoping to cross “make something wearable” off my list of goals, but it doesn’t look like that is going to be happening tonight!

Because I consider admitting defeat an accomplishment in itself, I do not plan on sharing any photos of this hideous project. 😉

The world of sewing is not always a magical one, but I will continue to chug along anyway!

I’ve lived with roommates my entire adult life, so I’m a long way from my dream home. What’s my dream home? Who knows. I couldn’t tell you a thing about it, other than this: It will have a generous space devoted to crafting.

I can’t even fathom a timeline when said room might actually take shape, but I dream about it anyway. Out of curiosity, I started browsing the internet to see what other people’s craft spaces looked like. I was blown away by the creativity that went into these spectacular sanctuaries. But really, I shouldn’t have been surprised that innovative people create innovative workspaces!

When the time comes, I want to whip out my craft room blueprints and make my dreams a reality. I need to be ready! So I created an inspiration board to show how I imagine my craft space.

(Source: I Google-imaged all of these and lost track of where they came from, so leave a comment and I will give you credit if your photo is in the mix!)

I want shelves upon shelves of see-through storage with colorful containers and tidy labels. I want countertops that stretch on for miles. I want racks hung up in rows with rainbows of ribbons and threads spilling down the wall. I want a sunshiney space where time stands still and seam rippers are never touched. I would appreciate enough floorspace for victory cartwheels and craft parties with friends. And in a dream world, I would top it off with one of those ridiculously priced but RIDICULOUSLY PERFECT pink or green desk chairs from Pottery Barn.

But at the center of it all will be sewing, crafting, creating… because that’s what it’s all about!

1) Create something wearable. No more fears about making items that are poorly fitted! I will make it happen this year.

2) Adequately prepare for next year’s holiday season and make as many Christmas gifts as possible. This year I didn’t get to sew a single gift. I know… excuses, excuses… but really, working two jobs and being new to sewing didn’t blend well when it came to Christmas gifts.

3) As much as possible, use fabric/notions that I already have on hand and avoid those tempting trips to the fabric store! Those trips add up, and plus, sometimes I think I get more creative when I’m forced to do amazing things with what I have on hand.

4) Create and sell some items in my etsy shop (that is currently collecting virtual dust).

5) Blog more often, including more completed projects and maybe even some of my own tutorials!

About Me

I'm Lindsay. A midwest girl at heart, living in (and loving) Florida, learning to sew one magical project at a time. I consider myself an "advanced beginner" but I still have a lot to learn! Thanks for following along!